MEDIA ROOTS – It may be a sign of a public awakening when news of government surveillance hits the front page of Gawker’s future and technology blog, io9. The scope of federal survellience was widened on August 10 when Wikileaks released documents that exposed the TrapWire system to the public. The security technology helps group private surveillance recordings into one larger network … Read More
MEDIA ROOTS – The AP recently reported that Israel is still considered the premier counterintelligence threat to the CIA’s Near East Division. Other media have reported similar findings over the years. The Associated Press has reported the fundamental paradox underlying the U.S.-Israel relationship: Israel spies ferociously against the United States, while the U.S. Congress and Executive Branchwork overtime to support Israel … Read More
MEDIA ROOTS – When Saddam Hussein used white phosphorous against his own people in March 1988, the United States labeled it a chemical weapon and considered it to be a weapon of mass destruction. This helped justify the American-lead invasion of Iraq in 2003. However, when coalition forces used the weapon in Fallujah the following year, it was classified as … Read More
MEDIA ROOTS – According to neoconservative Robert Kagan, the USA has been involved in military conflict abroad 70 percent of the time since the end of the Cold War. Many times, these foreign wars need to be “sold” to the U.S. public in order to galvanize the populace against a common enemy (e.g. Noriega ’89, Saddam ’91, Bin Laden ’01, … Read More
MEDIA ROOTS – One in five women in the U.S. Armed Forces is sexually assaulted, but most do not report these despicable acts. Two weeks ago, U.S. Air Force General Edward Rice held a press conference regarding allegations of sexual assault at Lackland Air Force Base, where all Air Force enlisted trainees undergo Basic Military Training (BMT). After listening to … Read More
